Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Central Asians in Russian Prison Said Behind Spread of Islamist Extremism There

Paul
Goble

Staunton, February 21 – Anatoly
Rudy, deputy head of Russia’s prison system, says the number of followers of “aggressive
trends of Islam” is growing rapidly because of the activities of 29,000 Uzbeks,
Tajiks and Kyrgyz now behind bars in Russia.The situation is so dire that he has appealed to Muslim Spiritual Directorates
(MSDs) in those countries for assistance.

In the past, Russian penal officials
have placed the blame for this problem on Muslims from the North Caucasus who
have been sentenced for “extremism” and who some jailors would like to see
segregated out from the general prison population.Rudy’s remark is intriguing because it links
extremism to gastarbeiters (lenta.ru/news/2018/02/16/islam/).

“In one colony,”
Rudy says, “where half of the condemned consist of people from the republics of
Central Asia, disorders have occurred. The religious community has entered into
conflict with ‘the common jail subculture’ and as a result, force had to be
used to address” this challenge to the order of the prison.

“We have fascists and nationalists
and we know how to work with them,” the prison official said. “But with people
who profess aggressive forms of Islam, we do not know what to do.” If Muslim
officials from these countries or from Russia can help, that would be extremely
welcome, Rudy concluded.

The penal official’s comments will
undoubtedly help to power a new upsurge in anti-Central Asian attitudes among
Russians.